People

It looks as though three big-city districts will have new chiefs in
time for the next school year. The Baltimore school system has tapped
Robert Booker as its new chief executive officer. Mr. Booker is
currently the chief financial officer for the San Diego schools. A
37-year veteran of the Los Angeles district, Mr. Booker was the chief
financial and business officer there until 1992. He will replace
Robert Schiller and take up his new post in the 108,000-student
district in July. ... Benjamin O. Canada, the superintendent of
the Atlanta schools since 1984, is returning to the Pacific Northwest,
where he began his career in education. Mr. Canada has accepted an
offer to serve as the superintendent of the 57,000-student Portland,
Ore., district. Mr. Canada, who was also the superintendent of the
Jackson, Miss., schools, spent 15 years in Seattle as a teacher and a
principal. He was the only candidate Portland officials interviewed for
the job, and he is expected to start in July. ... The Cincinnati school
board has voted to negotiate a contract with Steven Adamowski
for the district's superintendent slot. Now, Mr. Adamowski is
Delaware's associate secretary of education. The board of the
48,000-student district has until June 8 to approve a contract that
would have Mr. Adamowski replacing retiring Superintendent J.
Michael Brandt by August.

Naomi Duncan doesn't know the meaning of the word
"substitute." That's because in 56 years of teaching, she has never
missed a day of school. Not one.

The Marble Hill, Mo., art teacher was happy to see another school
year pass with her record of perfect attendance still intact.

"I didn't have to miss a day, and I didn't want to," said the
74-year- old, who teaches at the 1,000-student Woodland R-4 School.

Ms. Duncan has been teaching at the junior-senior high school for 44
years, and she doesn't have any intention of quitting.

Ms. Duncan is not quite sure how she remained healthy throughout the
school year, but she said she has been lucky not to have had any major
illnesses.

Her determination may have stemmed from the fact that during her
days as a student, she never missed a day of school.

After a few years without any absences as a teacher, she said,
maintaining her attendance record became a challenge. "I wanted to see
how long I could keep it up."